Earth
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Air-Pollution Pileup: Mediterranean endures emissions from afar
Although most Mediterranean countries aren't big polluters, the area is a crossroads for pollution-carrying air currents from Europe, Asia, and North America.
- Earth
Snowball Melting? Ancient formation shows glacier activity
An ancient, well-preserved glacial formation in Oman provided evidence that Earth experienced intermittent ice ages like those in Earth's more recent history.
- Earth
Contraceptive-Patch Worry: Disposal concern focuses on wildlife
Some scientists now worry that discarded contraceptive patches may leak synthetic estrogen into the environment, potentially harming wildlife.
- Earth
Haze clears on sooty climate conditions
The results of a new study suggest that soot plays a bigger role in regional climate changes than scientists had previously realized.
- Earth
Shifting Sands
Sand dunes can provide scientists with clues about ancient patterns of wind and precipitation.
- Earth
Global warming is marmot wake-up call
Marmots are coming out of hibernation earlier, while chipmunks and ground squirrels sleep longer-effects that could be attributed to global warming.
- Earth
Lawn Agent Cues Embryo Shortfall: Herbicide weeds out mice in the womb
Minuscule amounts of over-the-counter weed killers impair reproduction in mice.
- Earth
Clipping the Fin Trade
New research and policy developments aim to curb the wasteful and gruesome practice of killing sharks solely for their fins.
- Earth
Impurities clock crystal growth rates
A novel method for measuring tiny amounts of hydrogen-containing impurities allows researchers to determine growth rates along different directions in a quartz crystal.
- Earth
A deadly threat in undeployed airbags
The extremely toxic and reactive chemical used to inflate airbags could cause risks to human health and wildlife if accidentally released into the environment.
- Earth
It’s high tide for ice age climate change
Tides may sometimes be strong enough to tug Earth into an ice age.
- Earth
Moderate flows help carve rivers
Measurements of erosion in a rocky river channel in Taiwan suggest that the day-to-day flow of water accounts for more rock wear there than occasional catastrophic floods do.
